John Hopkins Medicine explains that a cochlear implant is a small electronic device that electrically stimulates the cochlear nerve. The external part of the device sits behind the ear and acts as a microphone picking up sound. This then processes sound and transmits it to the internal part of the implant.
The internal part of the implant is placed under the skin behind the ear, and together the two parts send signals to the cochlear nerve and into the brain to produce a hearing sensation. Although these implants do not restore hearing, the hearing experience can mean that individuals have an increased awareness of sounds in the environment as well as better means to communicate through speech.
Grace received a cochlear implant at eight months old, and with the guidance of Auditory Verbal therapy (AVT)and UK-based charity AVUK, she was able to learn how to communicate.
Both Jorge and Lindsey explained that the “valuable” journey Grace embarked on using AVT was not only important for her, but for them as well. Lindsey added: “We made it a family thing so that we could all support Grace, and a lot of what we learned seemed obvious but it’s not.